In a move with dangerous implications, US President-elect Donald Trump has announced the appointment of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as the United States Ambassador to the Zionist entity.
According to BBC Arabic, Huckabee will be the first non-Jewish figure to hold this position since 2011.
Trump said in a post on his platform "Truth Social": Mike loves "Israel" and its people, and they reciprocate this love, Huckabee will make an effort to achieve peace in the Middle East.
Huckabee has previously sparked controversy regarding his positions on the Palestinian issue, as he stated in his 2008 presidential campaign that "there is no Palestinian people," and indicated that the land necessary for a Palestinian state should come from other Arab countries, according to Axios.
In 2016, he refused to describe the West Bank as "occupied," preferring to use the biblical terms "Judea and Samaria," as reported by The New York Times.
Huckabee is known for his supportive stance towards "Israel" and his long-term support for settlements in the West Bank, as well as hosting a weekly program on Fox News for 6 years.
In an interview with CNN in 2017, he reiterated that "there is nothing called occupation," referring to the West Bank by its biblical name.
Huckabee's nomination has received immediate support from senior Zionist officials, while it is expected to face criticism from the Palestinian side due to his previous statements that were considered offensive to the Palestinian cause.
Huckabee criticized President Joe Biden for pressuring the occupation state to ease its aggression in Gaza, and rejected the calls of the Democratic administration to cease fire there.
Huckabee's nomination was welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies in the right-wing coalition, especially by ministers who support settlements like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.
Smotrich wrote on X platform: Huckabee is a loyal friend and supporter of the settlement project in Judea and Samaria, while Ben Gvir expressed his joy with a symbolic message that included the American and "Israeli" flags.
Similar to many leaders belonging to some American evangelical Christian churches who support Zionism, Huckabee maintains close relationships with Jewish Temple groups that declare their intention to demolish the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to pave the way for the reconstruction of the alleged Temple, and has a special relationship with Likud deputy and Rabbi Yehuda Glick, who is considered one of the prominent leaders of the Temple groups in the occupation state.
The website Arutz Sheva, which represents the settlers in the West Bank, published photos showing meetings between Huckabee and Glick on the sidelines of events organized in the settlements, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
It is worth noting that Huckabee served as Governor of Arkansas between 1996 and 2007, and unsuccessfully attempted to seek the Republican Party's nomination for the presidency in 2008 and 2016. His daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is the current Governor of Arkansas, and served as White House Press Secretary in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019.
